On Politics

12:00 pm

Thu February 14, 2013

Langevin slams Ted Nugent for "bizarre diatribe"

Congressman Jim Langevin is responding to criticism from rocker Ted "Cat Scratch Fever" Nugent, an ardent gun advocate, lambasting what MSNBC dubbed the rocker's "bizarre diatribe" following President Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Via news release:

In an exclusive interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Wednesday, [Langevin] said he refuses “to let Ted Nugent distract from the real message” of gun control and awareness. “Ted Nugent was an odd choice to bring as a guest to the State of the Union, after comments he made alluding to the fact that he would bring harm in some way to the President of the United States… Simple as that,” said the Democratic congressman from Rhode Island.

The musician/NRA board member said the congressman “probably has s**t for brains” after Langevin dared to question his invite to Tuesday’s speech as a guest of Texas Republican Congressman Steve Stockman.

When asked about his comments by NBC’s Luke Russert after the SOTU, Nugent railed against Langevin for “claiming that somehow I didn’t feel sorry for victims of violent crime.” He stood by his comment, saying, “That would take genuine fecal material instead of brain matter to actually continue such a vicious hateful lie. I think it qualifies.”

In addition to his State of the Union invite, Nugent earned a Secret Service investigation after threatening remarks he made towards the president in April 2012. At a convention for the National Rifle Association in St. Louis, Nugent declared, “If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” He also told the gun enthusiasts that “our government is wiping its ass with the Constitution” and denounced the “criminal” Obama’s “vile, evil, America-hating administration.” Nugent endorsed Mitt Romney, suffice to say.

As Langevin notes, he was paralyzed at age 16 due when he was accidentally shot during a police cadet program.